Troops bust illegal arms factories in Plateau, arrest five suspects
By Golok Nanmwa, JOS
Troops of Operation Enduring Peace have busted two illegal arms manufacturing factories in Vom, Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State, arresting five suspects and recovering a cache of arms and industrial equipment.
The operation was carried out on Thursday by troops of the Quick Response Force, QRF, of Operation Enduring Peace as part of efforts to curb the proliferation of illegal firearms in the state.
The Media Information Officer of the Joint Task Force, Capt. Chinonso Polycarp Oteh, disclosed this in a statement issued on Friday in Jos.
He said the raid followed intensive human intelligence gathering and strategic surveillance conducted by security operatives within the Joint Operations Area.
According to the statement, the operation led to the discovery of two illegal arms manufacturing sites where suspects were allegedly caught fabricating weapons.
“During the precision operation, troops arrested five suspects caught in the act of fabricating lethal weapons,” the statement said.
Items recovered from the sites included nine fabricated AK-47 rifles, one locally fabricated pistol, four empty AK-47 magazines, seven skeletal AK-47 rifles and 10 rifle butts.
Other items recovered were 36 empty shells of 7.62mm special ammunition, four revolver cylinders, 14 recoiling springs, six hand drilling machines, nine filing machines, four welding machines and other industrial equipment.
The task force said the suspects and recovered items were currently in custody for further investigation, adding that troops were intensifying efforts to track down other criminal elements linked to the illegal arms production network.
Operation Enduring Peace commended residents for supporting security operations and urged members of the public to remain vigilant and report suspicious activities to security agencies.
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